Pepsi's Pros Beverage Marketing Corporation's Bellas presents Weatherup with Lifetime Achievement Award This year’s Beverage Forum Lifetime Achievement Award went to an esteemed veteran of the Pepsi system, Craig Weatherup. During his three decade tenure, Weatherup served as CEO of the Pepsi-Cola Company, president of PepsiCo and founding chairman and CEO of The Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG), retiring from the latter position in January 2003. Beverage Marketing Corporation CEO Michael Bellas hailed Weatherup’s leadership in turning around Pepsi’s international business, shepherding Pepsi-Cola North America through a massive portfolio diversification process and building what became the largest and most successful Pepsi bottler across the globe. “I hope that in some way I have championed the integrity that this industry for stands for as I know you will continue to champion it in the future,” said a gracious Weatherup. PBG's Cahill Pepsi’s top bottler continues to navigate the challenging waters of the market and PBG president John Cahill spoke frankly about some of the issues confronting the CSD market. Concerns about obesity have put the industry in a fishbowl and Cahill suggested that soft drink marketers need to do a better job of enhancing public perception of the products. Cahill conceded that the Pepsi system’s 2004 effort to offer a lower-calorie, non-diet cola, Pepsi Edge, hasn’t worked out and made what was likely one of the first public confirmations that the product will disappear later this year.